Yahoo Lifestyle Antonio Banderas Says 30-Year-Old Fans Always Want To Talk About 'Spy Kids' (Exclusive)
Antonio Banderas is an incredibly lauded actor. He's been nominated for an Oscar, two Emmys, five Golden Globes and a Tony. He's appeared in critical darlings like Philadelphia, Pain and Glory and Official Competition. And yet, the only thing that millennials (myself included) want to talk to him about is Spy Kids.
"I am walking on the street," the star tells Parade, "and sometimes people, 30 year olds, they come to me and say, 'Oh my god! You are my hero. I was 7 years old when the first Spy Kids came out.'"
Banderas played the suave patriarch Gregorio Cortez in the original Spy Kids, which hit theaters in 2001 (when I was 9), and reprised the role in both Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002) and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003). Gregorio is the father of the titular spy kids Carmen (Alexa PenaVega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara), and became ingrained in the public consciousness as the James Bond of '90s kids.
"That means I am old," he laughs, "and at the same time, it means that they were very young at the time I was in my 40s."
Banderas signed onto the project because he'd previously worked with director Robert Rodriguez on projects like Desperado and Four Rooms.
"It was a lot of fun," Banderas remembers. "He proposed something kind of taking the model of James Bond movies and just transporting that into the world of kids...It was about the time that he took an old airport in San Antonio, Texas and transformed the place into a studio. He was over the moon about that and having sound stages and editing rooms and everything you need to make movies."
Banderas really is something of a patron saint for millennials given how many kids movies he did in the early aughts.
"I have done a lot of kids movies throughout my career," he says. "In fact a new one is coming. Paddington in Peru, but I have done three Shreks, two Puss in Boots. Five movies with Puss in Boots. I did a Spongebob."
It's perhaps exactly this four-quadrant appeal that enticed Germany appliance brand Bosch to hire him for their first-ever Super Bowl commercial. The ad, which is apart of their North American rollout strategy, will air in the game's fourth quarter and stars Banderas alongside professional wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
When Bosch reached out to Banderas, it was a immediate yes.
"Immediately, they said to me that the commercial was going to be played at the Super Bowl," Banderas remembers. "I know, because I lived in America for 23 years, the importance of being in that group of commercials. Steven Spielberg actually said to me years ago, 'It's almost like the Oscars of the commercials.' And then my girlfriend is actually German, and she just said, 'Oh those are such great products.'"
Aside from movie trailers, like one for The Mask of Zorro that Spielberg produced, this is Banderas' first Super Bowl commercial. Unfortunately, he may not be able to watch it live because he's directing a production of Company in Madrid, Spain, where they most likely won't be airing the American ads along with the game.
Perhaps surprisingly, Banderas says that filming a commercial is more difficult for him than a movie.
"It's not easy to make commercials, especially for actors," he says. "I suppose that for models, they're more used to that, but we actors, we have some protocols before. [In a movie or TV show] you put together a character, and so it takes more time. At the same time, [in a commercial], you are presenting a product which is actually the real star. So you have to do a double work in order to present yourself as natural and something that is not forced."
Since the Bosch ad is a comedy though, he found it a bit easier. "I am not shy, to tell you the truth," he says. "When I have to [make] a little bit of a clown of myself, I feel comfortable in that position."
Related: Antonio Banderas Reveals Who He Wants Cast in 'Zorro' Reboot
On a slightly less comedic note, Banderas recently appeared in the very much not family-friendly film Babygirl alongside Nicole Kidman. The BDSM-themed drama, directed by Halina Reijn, sees Kidman and Banderas as a married couple, with Kidman enticed into an affair with an intern at work played by Harris Dickinson.
"It was comfortable because she is an amazing professional," Banderas said about their steamy scenes together. "I gotta tell you, this is one of my favorite actresses of all time. Seriously, I got a huge deal of respect and admiration for her...Everyday working with her, the kindness, the professionality. Great human being. Great Actress. It was fabulous."
"I will do anything with Nicole and Halina," he continues. "I will go to hell if it's necessary, because I totally believe in the work."
To that, as a 33-year-old, I say, "Well let's get Nicole Kidman in a new Spy Kids movie, stat."
Check out the teaser for the Bosch Super Bowl ad below:
Related: Antonio Banderas Shares Rare Photo of Reunion With Stepdaughter Dakota Johnson
